Amna Osman – Michigan Public Health Leader and Global Consultant

AIDS in Ethiopia

In addition to her years of work in healthcare consulting and leadership, Amna Osman has provided support for women and children in developing countries. From 2008 to 2013, Amna Osman served as a consultant with NASTAD, an HIV reduction program in Ethiopia, a nation with a high incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

More than 1 million people in Ethiopia are currently estimated to be living with HIV, though not all have progressed to its final stage, AIDS. This illness also affects hundreds of thousands of children whose parents die of the disease. In 2006, Ethiopia began a multi-sectoral response to the epidemic with the support of the United Nations.

These efforts have significantly reduced the impact of HIV in the region, beating the sub-Saharan African regional average for antiretroviral treatment coverage by almost 10 percent. More work remains to be done, however, as Ethiopia still struggles to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Only 34 percent of HIV-positive births received prophylaxis as of 2010. Awareness, however, has reached an all-time high, with more than 95% of men and women aware of the disease.